This invention relates to a shock-absorbing railing system and, in particular, to a combination handrail and crash rail.
The assignee of the present invention has for some years marketed a line of wall protection products for use in hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, airports and wherever pedestrian traffic or rolling equipment can damage walls and corners. Included in that line are two versions of handrails constructed according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,229. Those handrails consist of rigid retainers securely mounted on the wall and resilient impact-resistant plastic trim pieces mounted on the retainers in a manner which allows the trim piece to deform and deflect toward the retainer upon impact. The center parts of the trim pieces are unsupported and are free to flex and deflect toward the retainer. The prior handrails have proven very effective in preventing wall damage.
Another type of wall protection device is a so-called crash rail. One form of presently known crash rail comprises spaced-apart brackets mounted at intervals along the wall and an impact resistant crash member mounted on the brackets. The center part of the face of the crash member is free to bend upon impact almost all the way up to the wall surface, and the way in which the crash member is affixed to the brackets makes it rather easy for the crash member to become dislodged from the brackets. The crash member engages the wall and is not capable of serving as a handrail.